Humza Yousaf has said he would like to look Peter Murrell "in the eye and tell him what I think of him" after the former SNP chief executive was jailed for embezzlement.
The former MSP, who was sworn in as first minister just days before Nicola Sturgeon's estranged husband was first arrested in April 2023, said he still had "a hell of a lot of questions" regarding the motivation behind the crime.
Memoir marks Gaza ordeal and political rise
Yousaf spoke to the Record to mark the publication this week of his new memoir, Under Fire, which documents how his wife's parents came to be trapped in Gaza in October 2023. It also sets out how the Glasgow-born son of immigrants from Pakistan rose to become the first Muslim leader of a Western European nation.
Yousaf served as first minister for just over a year - a period which coincided with the ramping-up of the Operation Branchform investigation into SNP finances, which ultimately led to Murrell pleading guilty in May to embezzling more than £400,000 from his employers.
Yousaf: Murrell committed 'real betrayal and treachery'
Asked if he felt anger over Murrell's actions, Yousaf said: "Of course. He committed a real betrayal and treachery. I would actually like to sit down with Peter at some point, and look him in the eye, and tell him what I think of him."Because he betrayed so many people's trust. And I've got a hell of a lot of questions as well."
"I would like him to know that a lot of people trusted him. We donated a lot of money, I can say myself that I donated thousands of pounds over the years he was in charge of the party, in good faith, not so he could have his hand in the till."So I am hurt, I am disappointed, I am angered. And I feel like he's betrayed me. I can't imagine what Nicola feels like, given she was his wife at the time."
Yousaf added: "I don't want to provide a running commentary on Peter Murrell. I just want to understand why. What the hell was the motivation? I don't think he was short of money."To play with fire, the way he did, I want to ask him - was it worth it? Of course it wasn't. It's just a dreadful betrayal."
Branchform 'an annoyance, a frustration'
Asked if he felt Operation Branchform had overshadowed his time in office, and whether it was a source of regret, Yousaf continued: "It's not a regret - it's an annoyance, a frustration."I was only three weeks in office when there was a police tent pitched up in my predecessor's front garden. We should of course say Nicola was totally exonerated. But I'm a great believer we're in a position for a reason."
"I'm not sure any other person in the party - with no disrespect to my predecessor or successor - could have brought the insight into Gaza that I was able to bring at the time, given my wife's family were quite literally trapped there. So these things happen for a reason."
Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, the parents of Yousaf's wife Nadia El-Nakla, were visiting relatives in Gaza when the Israeli military launched an offensive in the Palestinian enclave following the Hamas-led massacre of Israeli citizens on October 7. They were trapped for four weeks before leaving through the Rafah crossing in Egypt with other British nationals.
Yousaf's book blends political insight with testimonies from family members and considers themes of "leadership under pressure, identity and the human cost of global conflict".
